Farewell Grant High
by Jyoti
Summary: Where does graduation leave everybody? *My version of the last episode of Season 5* (DISCONTINUED)
1. Chapter 1

**Farewell Grant High **

The graduation went on without a hitch, and Amy couldn't be happier. She was ready to start a new chapter in her life, to finally grow up and start a new beginning. Everything in Valley Glen reminded her of her mistakes, her regrets, and her past altogether. She needed to get away from that. Everyone was walking off the stage and going to greet their parents. Amy was about to do the same until Madison and Lauren came up to her.

"I can't believe this! We're finally done with high-school this is it!" Madison squealed.

Lauren chuckled at her, "I know this is pretty exciting. And I guess well...this is goodbye Amy?"

"I guess so," Amy said, giving them each a hug. Lauren and Madison would always be considered her best friends, but she knew that after this they wouldn't speak much anymore. The minute Amy got pregnant, their friendship ended. Lauren and Madison couldn't handle being around her at the time, and now they were finally free from her. The way Amy saw it, it was best for them to get away from her.

She pushed past the crowd and made her way to her parents, and Ashley. She was actually surprised to see Ashley at her graduation. She was almost never in the house, and Amy knew that it had to do with her.

"Hey guys!"

"Amy!" George and Anne hugged her excitedly, and Ashley stayed to the side, her arms crossed.

"So Amy...marrying Ricky today?" Ashley mumbled.

Amy let out a sigh, but she didn't address the topic. In all honesty she knew that this thing between her and Ricky wasn't going to work out. She needed her freedom. She didn't want to be tied down. It might have been selfish of her, but she knew what she wanted to now, and she was going to go after it.

"Amy we are so proud of you!" Anne smiled, "You made it!"

"Yeah, I'm glad to finally be done with high-school and put all the drama behind me."

"Yeah me too," Ashley added, "Which is why I'm going to Italy for sure. My plane leaves today. So I just came to congratulate you Amy, and say bye mom and dad."

Amy's jaw dropped to the floor and Anne looked over at Ashley with concern, "Honey can't you get on a plane some other time? You don't have to leave so soon."

"I want to leave as soon as possible. I want to be away..."

"Away from your family?" George questioned, with a pained look in in his eyes.

Ashley rolled her eyes, refusing to look upset, "Dad what family? We haven't had a real family since Amy got pregnant."

"Hey!" Anne shouted, "Stop that!"

"No, mom...maybe she's right," Amy sighed, "Look I have to be somewhere but I'll see you guys later, and Ashley have a safe flight." Amy could feel her eyes getting watery as she walked away. She felt the regret, and shame all over again. Was she responsible for the falling apart of her household? Was she the cause of all of this? One side of her said that her parents were arguing way before she had gotten pregnant, but the other side said that her pregnancy split the whole family apart. She just couldn't take this anymore.

* * *

"Ashley you know that wasn't nice, you should really apologize to your sister," Anne scolded her.

"I only told the truth, and don't worry about it she'll get over it. After I leave today I won't harass you or her anymore," Ashley muttered.

"Ash is that what you think? That you're harassing us by being here?" George questioned.

Ashley drew in a deep breath as her parents waited for her to respond, "The only thing you guys care about is Amy, Ricky, and her baby. You guys don't even know me!"

"What do you mean we don't know you honey, you're our daughter!"

"You guys weren't there for me when I got my GED, or when I was deciding colleges. You guys weren't there for me when I had sex for the very first time. You guys are never there, you're too busy taking care of Amy. It's always about Amy, and Ricky, and John. I love my sister ok? I was there for her when she was pregnant. I supported her and stood up for her when her friends went behind her back and told everyone in the school about her. But she was never there for me. She doesn't care about anyone, expect maybe herself-"

"Ashley," Anne cried.

"No, mom just let me talk. I'm tired of sitting around waiting for things to get better. Valley Glen has nothing left to offer me. You said you wanted me to be happy right? So now I'm going to do that. I'm going to be happy in a place that is drama free, where I can start a new life."

"Did Toby want you to do this? Is he asking you to travel to Italy with him so you guys can have sex?" Anne asked with an agitated tone.

"If you knew me as well as you thought, you would know that Toby and I broke up."

"Ash I'm sorry-"

"There's no need to be. It doesn't matter anymore. You guys have fun, and take care...Look, you guys are my parents regardless of everything that's happened. I can't say I don't love you guys, or even that I don't love Amy, but I'm miserable here...And I can't do this anymore. I deserve to be happy too...Goodbye." With a pained expression on her face she walked away.

Anne and George stood there, completely dumbfounded.

"What have we been doing all these years George?"

"We've been screwing up," George replied with a sigh, "We were so busy fighting, and arguing that we didn't check on our daughters enough. And now, I think we'll have to live with that regret."

"I just don't understand how things got so messed up...George, why didn't we stay together?"

"Anne...why does anything happen? Why did you decide that you were gay? Things _just happen_."

* * *

_"Ricky please, please don't be mad at me!" Amy pleaded, tears falling down her eyes._

_"Please don't be mad at you? Please don't be mad at you!" Ricky was furious. His face was turning red and his eyes were getting watery, "I gave you every opportunity to break up with me! And you said no to all of them! You said you wanted to marry me!"_

_"Ricky I have to do what's best for me," she cried, "Please understand that."_

_"And what's best for you huh? Going all the way to New York? Leaving John behind? Leaving me behind!"_

_"Rick you don't love me!"_

_"Bullshit. This isn't about me loving you, this is about you being selfish! You've always been selfish Amy. I've done everything for you. I changed my whole life, for you! And that's not good enough? What the hell do you want from me Amy?"_

_"You changed for me? NO! You changed for John. You did this for your son! Look I appreciate you being there for John. I appreciate you stepping up and being a good father, but I'm under no obligation to be your wife just because you did what any good man would do! Maybe I am selfish Ricky, but can you say that you're not? It wasn't that long ago when I was the one who ruined your life by getting pregnant. It wasn't that long ago when you were going around having sex with everyone and breaking peoples hearts. I'm not the only one who's been selfish."_

_"What is this about Amy," Ricky cried, "Just tell me how to make this right, please. We don't have to end this."_

_"No, Ricky we have to end this. I have to end this. I can't go through with this."_

_"You'll hurt John you know that?"_

_"John knows that I love him. He'll understand that."_

_"Is this about Ben? Are you in love with Ben again?"_

_"For once this is about me. This isn't about Ben, or you, or any other guy. I need to do what's right, and me being with you, it just isn't right. We rushed into this, and I don't want to rush into a marriage too."_

_"Do you love him Amy?"_

_"Ben was my first love...I'll always love him...but Ricky-"_

_Ricky walked past Amy and went to go get John. _

_"Come on buddy, we're gonna go."_

_John grumpily shook his head but Ricky picked him up anyway, "We're gonna go see grandpa and grandma today. How does that sound buddy?"_

_John yawned, and started to fall asleep on Ricky's shoulder._

_"Where are you taking my son?" Amy questioned._

_"I'm just going to Margaret and Shakur's house right now. I'll call when I get there," Ricky replied in an irritated voice._

_"Ricky...I'm sorry-"_

_And then the door closed._

Amy couldn't help but replay the earlier conversation over and over again in her head. All she could feel was pain. Was this it? Was it truly over for her and Ricky? She knew that she needed to do this, but she had a hard time dealing with it. She sat there, completely frozen for hours. She kept looking at the door, waiting for him to come back. _Maybe I shouldn't have said all of that. Maybe I do love him. _But then she shook those thoughts out of her head because she realized the truth, her and Ricky weren't meant for each other, and it would take a long time until she was meant to be with anyone for that matter.

She took her phone out of her pocket and drew in a shaky breath. She scrolled through her contacts list and finally paused when she saw Ben's number. Her heart beat increased, and she could feel herself getting nervous although she wasn't sure why. She clicked on his contact and waited for an answer.

After three rings, the phone when straight to voice-mail. _Beep. _

"H-Hi...it's Amy I just...I really wanted to say that I'm sorry Ben. These past four years in high-school have been hell and I'm partially the reason for it being that way. I'm really sorry that I hurt you Ben and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about the pregnancy sooner. I really just want to move forward and I hope that maybe one day you can forgive me? I'm just so lost right now. I used to be able to come to you and talk to you about this kind of stuff, but things changed...I really hope that we can be friends, and I'm sure I'll be seeing you in New York so uh, yeah...If you get this message call me back, i-if you want to you I mean," she sighed, clearly frustrated with herself, "Well um, bye. And Ben? Thank you for being there for me when I was having John. You were a great a boyfriend, and you're gonna make another girl really happy...Bye."

Amy ended the message and she could feel the tears falling down her face. She didn't know what to do, or where to go from here. All she knew was that she had to try and make things right, and that started with apologizing to everyone she felt she had done wrong to. She grabbed her purse and made her way out of the apartment.

* * *

"I'm surprised you're over here, I thought you'd be celebrating with your family."

Ben and Adrian were seated on a couch in what was once _their _condo. Adrian brought out some drinks and snacks and the two sat down and talked.

"Yeah well, you know I don't talk to Leo and Camille that much."

"I know they're hard on you Ben, but I'm sure they love you," Adrian muttered in a soft tone, "Why'd you call me though? Why would you want to come over here? I thought you'd call Amy."

"Amy? Why Amy?"

Adrian scoffed, "For the past few weeks you've been walking around saying how much you love her. Which makes no sense to me...didn't you have an epiphany or something? I thought you didn't love her anymore."

Ben sighed, "Things just got complicated I don't know. I've always loved Amy you know? She was my very first love and I was there for her throughout her pregnancy. I thought she loved me and we would last forever but then she ended up with Ricky and it just...it hurts Adrian. For the last four years high-school has left me with nothing but emotional scars...I guess I just came to talk to you because we've been friends for a while, and well I really didn't have anyone else. I mean Alice is dealing with her own issues because of her breakup with Henry, and Henry and I will never be close again since he...you know slept with you."

"Gee thanks," Adrian rolled her eyes.

"No! I-Well I didn't mean it like that I just meant-"

Adrian cut him off with the sound of her laughter, "Calm down I'm just kidding Ben...And I'm sorry by the way, about well...about everything. I should have never slept with Henry. I should have never done a lot of things."

Ben shrugged, "The past is the past. We all have to move on."

"Do we Ben? Amy's going to be going to the same school as you. It's not too late for you and Amy to make things work."

"It's not too late for a lot of people to make a lot of things work Adrian."

Adrian raised an eyebrow at him, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about-"

Adrian and Ben were interrupted by a knock on the door. Adrian put her food down, "Hold that thought, I wonder who that is."

Ben waited patiently as Adrian went and opened the door. To her surprise she saw Omar standing there. She froze for a moment, completely in shock. Ben turned his head just in time to see that Omar was standing there.

"Omar...what are you doing here?"

"I came to tell you that I made a huge mistake in breaking up with you, and I really want you back," Omar said, "May I come in?"

"Omar..." It took her a minute to realize that Omar was really standing in front of her door, asking to come in, asking to have her back. She felt like she should feel happy about this moment, but for some reason she didn't. She just felt confused.

"Maybe I should go?" Ben finally stood up, making his way towards the door.

When Omar saw him his expression immediately changed, "Wow...so I've been at home thinking about us and you've been what? Fucking this guy!"

"Omar no it's not like that-"

It was crazy how in a split second Omar's feelings could change. It was dangerous even. He accused her of everything. He never waited to hear her side of the story before yelling at her. It was overwhelming to deal with.

"Save it! You know my brother was right, you really are a slut-"

"Hey!" Ben shouted, clearly frustrated, "You have no right to talk to her like that!"

"You guys just, just stop. Omar you should go...and don't come here anymore."

"I wasn't planning on it," Omar shook his head in disappointment as he walked off. Adrian closed the door behind her.

"Remind me why you dated him again?"

Adrian chuckled but he could see her eyes getting watery.

"Hey," he said softly, "That guys an idiot ok?"

"No...he's right. I am a slut-"

Ben cut her off when his lips pressed against hers. They were warm and familiar and Adrian could feel the thumping of her heart. She didn't understand what was going on, but she didn't want to stop it either. Being in the moment with Ben felt good, and she hadn't felt good like that in a long time.

Ben pulled away almost too quickly for Adrian's liking, and she wondered if he felt guilty for what he did. Their foreheads touched and their breathing was heavy, and Adrian felt herself smiling although she wasn't sure if she should be smiling or not. He finally pulled away from her after he caught his breath.

"Um...I-I think I'm gonna go."

"Oh," Adrian said, "Yeah that's probably for the best um...goodnight Ben."

"Goodnight Adrian," Ben said, staring at her for a another second or two before leaving the house.

Adrian sighed as she took a seat on the couch. Now she was even more confused than before.

* * *

"So you guys aren't getting married?" Margaret and Shakur were surprised to say the least.

"No," Ricky gritted his teeth, "Amy doesn't want to marry me. She wants to go off to New York and live happily ever after with Ben. I'm never good enough for anyone."

"Now don't go saying that honey, you're just as good as any of those other guys. You've come a long way."

"And where the hell has that gotten me? Nowhere."

Shakur sighed, "Look Ricky, maybe Amy just isn't the right one. You have your whole life to settle down and get married, what's the rush?"

"That's not the point! The point is...Who am I kidding? I never loved her and she never loved me. We just did this for John."

John was in the other room, pretending to play with his toys. He didn't understand what was going on, but he could sense that something was going on. He wondered where his mommy was. He missed her.

"I wouldn't say that. You guys have both come very far and I know you care for her a lot-"

"But do I love her? Did I ever love her?" Ricky persisted.

"Well honey I can't tell you what you feel. Some things you just know on your own," Margaret sighed, "I knew that I loved Shakur when I realized that I would do anything for him. I would be patient with him and not give up. I wouldn't get jealous seeing him with any girls because I trusted him with all my heart. We just had this special bond that nobody could break," she glanced at Shakur, "And don't you dare bring this up ever."

Shakur and Ricky laughed at this.

"Well thanks mom. Do you mind watching John? I need to run an errand."

"To see who? Amy?"

Ricky shook his head, "No, Dr. Fields."

Margaret tossed him a small smile, "Alright, keys are on the counter, be back soon."

* * *

"So that's it, you guys are done?" Ashley questioned, a little surprised.

For the first time in a long time, Ashley was sitting on Amy's old bed and the two were actually talking. Anne was taking care of Robbie and George was most likely at Kathleen's house.

"Yeah...I guess, it's really over," Amy said, "I don't even know how to feel."

Ashley hesitated for a moment, and then she pulled her sister in for a hug. It was these rare moments from Ashley that made Amy feel like for once she wasn't alone.

"Ash...I'm so sorry about everything."

"Don't worry about it."

"I should have-"

"Shoulda coulda woulda but you didn't. So let's move on ok? It's time for everyone to move on."

"Are you really going to go to Italy?" Amy asked.

Ashley nodded, "I have to do this for me, just like how you have to go to New York for you. I have a late night flight."

"Good luck..Ash...Do you think I made the right decision?"

"I think you made the right decision for you," Ashley shrugged.

* * *

**A/N: **I think I ended this first chapter awkwardly. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed. This is just my take on something that could have happened after graduation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Farewell Grant High PT2**

Grace and Jack were sitting down in the living room at the Bowman's house. No one dared to say anything, the room was filled with silence. This was it. The decision had been made. They couldn't be together, and they both knew that.

"Grace?" Jack turned to look at her, and he was surprised to see that her eyes were watery, and he was even more surprised to see a tear falling down his own eye. He knew that it was over and that they didn't want to be together anymore. He even knew that it was better if they weren't together, but that didn't make it feel any better. Grace was always going to be his first love, and he would never forget her. Moving on would be difficult, and he just hoped that it would be worth it.

"Yeah," she choked on her tears as she looked at him. She hadn't expected to feel this way. When they decided to break up she thought she'd be happy. She realized that she needed to re-evaluate herself and make some serious changes, and breaking up with him was much needed. But a flood of memories pushed inside her brain. The first time they had sex, the day her father died, their talks over the summer, everything.

"I want you to know that I really appreciate you being there for me in high-school...I know we made a lot of mistakes, but I'll always love you I just hope you realize that."

"Yeah...I'll always love you too."

"I wish you the best of luck," Jack said, getting up from his seat. Grace got up too and slowly made her way towards him. She knew better than to give one last goodbye kiss, because that could turn into something more. So instead they hugged, and he left without another word.

Despite the tears she felt a smile creep onto her face because she knew that this was the best decision she had made in a while. She needed to focus on herself, and better herself. It was time to put all the drama behind her.

Before she could reflect more on it she felt her phone ring. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and was surprised to see that it was from Adrian.

"Adrian? Hey what's going on?"

"I don't know Grace I just...can you come over?"

"Well it's kind of late so-"

"Ben kissed me," she blurted out.

Grace paused for a second, unsure of what to say. She was completely shocked.

"Grace? Are you there?"

"I'm coming over," Grace said excitedly, and then she hung up.

* * *

Ben was sitting in the car, in his father's driveway. He honestly didn't want to go home. He didn't feel like talking to Leo, and his kiss with Adrian was the only thing that was on his mind at the moment. He didn't understand why he did it, or what he was feeling, but all he knew was that he craved Adrian's lips on his even more now that he had left.

He tried to shake his head of these thoughts and distract himself with something else. He took his cellphone out of his pocket and realized that he had had it off all day. He turned on his phone and he noticed that he had a voice-mail from Amy. He froze for a moment, unsure if he should listen to it or not. He had been waiting for this moment all year, for Amy to contact him first and have a real conversation with him, but now that the moment was here he wasn't sure of what to think.

He reluctantly listened to the voice-mail, noticing that his hands were shaky, and his heart beat was increasing. As he listened to it he couldn't help but smile again. Amy was stuttering, and it reminded him of the little freshman that he had first laid eyes on. The band geek that he had been head over heels in love with. She was apologizing to him, and being completely honest with him for once. That meant something to Ben, no, that meant everything to Ben.

And Ben Boykevich was a forgiving person, so he felt no bitterness towards her. He wouldn't **not **accept her apology. She was Amy Jurgens after all, his first true love. The question was, was Amy Jurgens the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with?

And that's when he started to think of Adrian again.

* * *

"So he just kissed you?! Out of nowhere!"

Adrian couldn't help but chuckle at this, "Grace calm down please!"

"I'm sorry it's just...wow! I thought he was in love with Amy, not that it matters since Amy got married to Ricky right?"

Adrian shrugged, "I don't know if they actually got married. I haven't heard anything about it, and to be honest I don't want to know. It's none of my business anymore. You know Omar came by too..."

"Really? What'd he want?" Grace asked, "Wow two guys in one night, get em chica."

Adrian rolled her eyes but laughed, "Stop, no Omar came over because he wanted me back, but Ben was here so he accused me of cheating and called me a slut...And then Ben stood up for me. After Omar left he just kissed me."

Grace noticed something about Adrian. Her eyes lit up when she talked about Ben. Her face glowed when she talked about the kiss, "Adrian are you happy that it happened?"

She sighed, "I don't know. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel Grace I mean I just ended things with Omar. I don't wanna jump to the next guy, especially not Ben. Ben deserves more than that."

"You really care about Ben don't you?" Grace gave her a small smile.

"Yeah...well all of this talk hurts my brain. Let's watch a movie or something, you can spend the night."

Grace giggled, "We haven't had a real girls night in a while."

"I know..."

"I'm picking the movie!" They both exclaimed. Adrian and Grace laughed loudly when they said this and Adrian shrugged, "I'll let you pick the movie this time."

* * *

"Seems like you have a lot going on," Dr. Fields said, "I haven't seen you in quite some time so there must be something on your mind."

"I thought I was better. I thought I didn't need to see a therapist anymore...but I'm still messed up, and confused about everything...I thought I made so much progress, but I can't even see where my future is leading me, and now I've lost Amy too."

"Ricky you have made great progress. You're not sleeping around anymore, you're taking care of your child, and it's only natural at this point in your life to not know where you're headed. As for Amy...Some things just happen son. You guys are still so young and she wants to experience new things and new people, which is common."

"I just thought...if I married Amy and we took care of John I would be different than my parents. I wouldn't be such a screw up, and I could make up for hurting her all those years ago. It's like I...I owed it to her to be a good man. And I owe it to John to be a good parent. I knew that we were drifting away a long time ago," his eyes were getting red and watery now, "But I got her pregnant," he gritted his teeth, "I did this to her and us, so how could I just not be with her after everything I did?"

"Ricky you don't have to be with Amy to treat her well. You can be a good friend to her, look out for her, and support her, and you guys can work together as friends and take care of your baby."

"It's just...it's a strange feeling. I've never been dumped before, or felt so alone. I've never not had a girl."

"Well maybe now it's time to stop focusing on being with someone, and work on yourself. This is a fresh start for you."

* * *

**A/N: **I'm thinking of having one last part to wrap things up, but we'll see. Thanks again for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Farewell Grant High PT3**

When Ben finally made his way inside the house, he went straight to his room, not feeling the need to say hi to Leo or Camille. He was laying on his bed, lost in his thoughts once again, when there was a knock on the door. He expected it to be Chloe. Chloe was the only one in the house who ever actually knocked on the door, or wanted to talk to him.

"Come in," he replied in lazily.

To his surprise Leo opened the door and took a seat on his bed.

Ben sat up a bit, adjusting his position on the bed. He waited for Leo to say something but Leo remained quiet for a while, and Ben felt himself getting impatient, and annoyed, "Something you need?"

"Ben I...I wanted to talk to you before you went off to college. I realized that this might be the last time I see you on a regular basis."

"Ok...About what? We already picked out the apartment in New York and covered the living expenses."

Ben's eyebrows were half raised as he waited for a response. Leo looked sad now. His eyes didn't dare look up at Ben, instead he stared at the bed. He suddenly looked older, as if he was turning older minute by minute. There were permanent wrinkles on his face, and his eyes were baggy, and he wasn't smiling. He was tired.

"Dad?" For the first time in a long time Ben had actually called Leo dad. He was concerned now.

"Ben...son...I want you to know how sorry I am. I haven't been here for you much these past years. I wasn't there for you when you needed me," he spoke slowly, and quietly, "Gosh if Sarah were here..." But he didn't finish his sentence because he started to cry.

Ben hadn't seen his father cry since his mother died. He was shocked, and he wasn't sure of what to do, "Dad it's...it's ok."

"No, it's not..."

Ben didn't say anything after that because maybe Leo was right. Maybe it wasn't ok that his father hadn't been there for him nearly as much as he had been there for Ricky. But Leo seemed to be upset enough, and Ben wasn't going to make it worse.

"Dad look...being a parent...it's hard ok? You're only human right? We all make mistakes," Ben muttered softly, awkwardly placing his hand on his father's back.

Leo let out a dark chuckle, "Great, a talk from my own son. You're wise Ben...your mother would be proud."

Ben smiled slightly at that, "Thanks..."

Leo got up now, unsure of what else to say, "Ben I hope you can forgive your dad before you go to college."

"I forgive you..."

Leo thanked him and then left the room, and Ben lay there, wondering what had got his dad to apologize to him in the first place.

...

He felt his phone vibrate in his jean pocket once again. He was surprised to see that it was Amy. He answered after a few rings and he felt himself unnecessarily clear his throat, "Hello?"

"Um...hey Ben," Amy mumbled awkwardly, "Did you get my-"

"Your voice-mail, yeah."

"Oh."

"Yup."

And then there was another awkward silence, in which Ben cleared his throat again, "I accept your apology Amy, and I'll always forgive you for everything I hope you know that."

"You're too nice to me," Amy replied, and it sounded as if she was upset.

"Please don't be sad. My dad's already sad today, everyone's sad. Let's just move on from all of this."

For the first time in forever Ben was actually wiling to just move on. He wanted a fresh start, and he knew that when he went to New York he would get that. He was ready to move on from everyone, and he wouldn't let anything hold him down, not anymore.

"Sorry I've...I've had a long day and thank you for forgiving me Ben. You're always like that, forgiving."

"What happened today?"

"I broke off the engagement Ben."

Ben froze for a moment. He had to admit that he had been hoping that Amy would one day call him and say the exact words she was saying right now, and then he hoped that she would say how much she loved him, and they would start their life together. But the words that came out of his mouth wasn't at all what he had expected.

"I'm sorry Amy."

"You are?" Amy asked, a little confused and thrown off.

"Yeah I am. I know how much you loved Ricky and I'm sure it will be hard on John too."

"Ben what's happened to you?"

Ben chuckled at this, "Nothing it's just...don't you think it's time for a fresh start Amy? Don't you think it's time I stop chasing after you, and live my own life. This is a fresh start for both of us. Now that you've broken off the engagement you can do what ever it was you were hoping to do right?"

"Yeah Ben...I guess you're right. I'll be in New York. I'll probably see you in New York," she replied. She seemed to imply something when she said that they would both be in New York together, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"It will be good to have a friend there in an unfamiliar place. I really look forward to seeing you Amy, it's been a while since I've been able to just talk to you...I miss it."

"Yeah Ben, I miss it too..." Amy paused for a moment, and Ben waited for her to say something else but she didn't.

"Ok well...I'm going to get some rest is that ok?" Ben asked.

"Oh! Oh yeah of course it's ok! I should get some rest too. Goodnight Ben."

"Goodnight Amy I..."

"What was that?"

"I said goodnight Amy. Sleep well." And without waiting for a reply Ben hung up.

He had to stop himself from telling Amy that he loved her. It was dangerous, _she _was dangerous. He couldn't wrap his head around it. She had suddenly become the sweet girl that he had met during freshman year, but after everything that happened he knew that things were different now. _He _was different now. Ben didn't want to go back to chasing after Amy. He wanted her in her life forever, but he had come to the conclusion that they couldn't be together even if he loved her because it wouldn't be any good for him.

This was the first time, Ben had realized, that he started thinking about himself, and what he needed in his life. But he knew that he still had a long way to go.

* * *

Amy had gone back to her parents house and was laying in her old bed. She took in her surroundings and noticed all of the old pictures and awards that she would need to pack soon. She had just gotten off of the phone with Ben, and things felt different. She was mixed up, and just confused, and in the back of her mind she had expected Ben to come right and say that he was still in love with her, and that he wanted to work something out.

But that didn't happen.

She noticed how much more mature Ben sounded. It was the most mature she had heard him sound in all four years of knowing him. Was he truly over her? She didn't know, but the more important question was, should she care? When she heard Ben's voice on the phone, she couldn't help but feel little butterflies in her stomach. Ben was always going to be her first love, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to be with him right now, or even if she should be thinking about Ben at all considering her fight with Ricky.

Ricky.

She knew that she could fix things with Ricky if she came running back to him, and telling him she wanted to get married again. But she felt some type of relief knowing that she didn't have to be with him anymore. She had loved Ricky, and cared for him. And Ricky had become a great guy. But what she needed more than anything was _freedom._ She hadn't had any freedom for four years. Everyone expected her to do something, everyone wanted something from her. And now, she was finally able to break free from it.

She thought again about her conversation with Ben and she realized that that's what they both needed. They didn't need any relationships, what they needed was to get out in the world and make something of themselves, and focus on all of the other joys of life.

Amy was ready for a fresh start, and a new beginning, and that meant breaking away from a romantic relationship for quite some time.

Pulling her away from her thoughts she heard the door open. She half expected it to be Ashley, but then she remembered that Ashley had decided to leave for the airport early. She was glad that she had talked to her sister and cleared things up before she left.

"Hey Amy!" Anne said in her usual optimistic voice. She was carrying Robbie, who was tugging on her clothes and trying to mess with her hair.

"Hey mom...and hey Robbie!" Amy's voice was much more energetic when she saw Robbie.

Robbie was definitely getting bigger and bigger everyday and Amy saw the light in her mom's eyes whenever she held Robbie in her arms.

Anne handed Robbie to Amy and Amy played with him, and smiled, "Did he grow?"

Anne chuckled, "He grows every minute it seems...Have you heard from Ricky?"

Her body stiffened when she heard Ricky's name, but she shook her head, "No, I haven't. I'm sure he's ok though, and I'm sure John's ok. Although I like to hear John's little voice every night before I go to bed."

"I can call Ricky-"

Amy shook her head quickly at this, "No, he needs his space. He was pretty upset."

"I see. And how are you feeling?"

"A little upset...but mostly relieved. I know what I did was harsh, but it had to be done. I'm not ready for marriage, I never was. The only thing I regret is dragging this wedding along when I knew...that it was never going to happen." Amy was getting teary eyed now and Anne looked at her with a worried face.

"Mama!" Robbie exclaimed, "Te-r Te-r."

"He means tears," Anne explained, "Yes baby those are tears."

Robbie reached up to touch Amy's face and wiped away the tears in the process. Amy looked at Robbie with awe and thanked him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Get some rest honey," Anne sighed as she picked up Robbie once more, "You'll feel better in the morning."

* * *

Omar was sitting in his brother Dante's apartment with a beer in his hand, "So then I go back to try and make things work and there she is standing there with Ben of all people! What a slut!"

Dante rolled his eyes at his brother. Omar had a way of exaggerating everything, and taking things the wrong way, and getting angry for no reason, and finding any excuse to be angry. He wasn't sure where Omar got that from, because both of his parents had been reasonable enough, but Dante didn't like it.

"That's it...just standing there?"

"Yeah but obviously they had been doing something more before I came," Omar said, gritting his teeth.

"You jumped to conclusions again. Why'd you pick her anyway bro?"

"She's pretty and she needed me."

"From what I remember she didn't _need_ any guy. She was pretty independent, she just went through a lot. And you knew I liked her so I don't know why you'd-"

"Blah, blah, blah," Omar mutter grumpily, "We've talked about this before, you weren't there for her. You left her, and I was there to pick up the pieces. I saw a beautiful girl and I had to help her. She needed my help."

"That's your problem, you think everyone needs you. And I left because I realized that she wasn't ready for a real relationship..Well that and come on! Backpacking across the freaking country is way more fun. But the point is bro, after everything she went through with her baby, how could I possibly stick around? She didn't want me. She just wanted to forget about everything that happened to her. And when I came back I owned up to my mistake. I should have told her I was leaving, but I respected her a lot more than you did," Dante scoffed. It was the first time that he had actually told his brother off, and to be honest, it felt good. Hell, it felt great.

"I'll be upstairs," Omar said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah you do that," Dante let out an irritated chuckle.

* * *

Adrian and Grace were still up, watching movies, and eating food that Grace felt guilty for even taking a bite of.

"You know all this ice-cream really isn't healthy," Grace mumbled worriedly.

"Oh live a little!" Adrian exclaimed as she turned up the volume on the TV. They were watching _Bring It: Fight to the Finish,_ and Adrian wasn't sure why she had let Grace pick yet another movie. She should have know it would be about cheer of all things.

"Hey Grace," Adrian nudged, her eyes still looking at the screen as one hand found it's way into the popcorn bowl, "How did things go with Jack?"

Grace felt herself sighing at the thought of it, she wondered what he was up to and she almost thought about calling him, but she knew that she couldn't do that to herself.

"We broke up," Grace shrugged, suddenly forgetting how unhealthy the ice-cream was and sticking a big spoonful into her mouth, "Ah! Brain freeze!"

Adrian rolled her eyes but chuckled, "Shouldn't have shoved all that ice-cream into your mouth Miss Health Freak."

"Quiet you," Grace whimpered.

"So do you think Jack took it ok?"

"I don't know, but I know that it had to be done...He's probably off with Madison right now."

"Tweedledee and Tweedledum? Again?"

Grace couldn't help but laugh at this, "You're so mean Adrian!"

"I only said what you were thinking," Adrian chuckled and shrugged.

"Regardless, I hope he's happy. I want him to be happy. I want us both to be happy I just...I know we can't both be happy together anymore," Grace explained, lost in her own thoughts.

Adrian paused for a moment, but nodded, "Yeah, I guess so."

"And what about you Adrian?" Grace questioned.

"What about me?"

"Can you and Ben be happy together?"

* * *

** A/N**: I didn't expect the story to be this long, but I'll have to make another part because this would be a terrible ending in my opinion lol. Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

**Farewell Grant High PT4**

"Are you sure you have everything you need?" Leo asked as he took a look at all of Ben's bags.

"We double checked before we even got to the airport," Ben let out a light hearted chuckle, "I'm sure I'm fine dad...Now can I go I don't wanna miss my flight?"

Leo took a moment to pause as he looked around at the airport, and then back as his son, "You've really grown up Ben...just yesterday you were-"

"A little boy," Chloe rolled her eyes and let out a laugh, "Leo you gave him this speech when we were in the car and I think Ben's excited to go."

"Thanks sis."

Chloe gave him a toothy grin and pulled him into a bear hug, "I'm gonna miss you Ben."

"I'll keep in touch," he smiled, "Bye you guys."

"Bye Ben! We love you!" Chloe exclaimed as Ben walked away.

...

Ben was excited. In just a matter of hours he was going to be in New York! This was the great escape that he so desperately needed, and nothing, or no one, would stop him from having his fresh start. As he made his way inside the airplane he checked his ticket to see where he would seat. He threw his bag in the compartment above and found his way to his seat. He practically froze. Sitting next to him was none other than Amy Jurgens.

If this had been months ago he may have been jumping for joy, but he wanted to get past any drama that reminded him of high-school, and Amy was definitely a reminder of that. Amy smiled at him as he took a seat, "Heh, small world I guess."

"Yeah I guess," he chuckled, "Excited?"

"Are you kidding me! Of course! I mean it's New York...I always dreamed I'd be doing this, and although things are a little different I'm glad I got to follow my dreams."

There was a sparkle in Amy's eyes whenever she talked about New York and Ben knew that this was the best thing for her. She was ambitious. She wanted it all and somehow she always managed to get the things that she wanted, and that was one thing that Ben admired and hated about her at the same time. He admired her strength, her perseverance, and her big dreams, but sometimes she didn't know how to let things go. Sometimes she refused to realize that you can't always have what you want.

"Ben?"

"Huh?" Ben snapped back into reality.

"I said how about you? Are you excited?"

"Oh yeah of course I am I mean...I don't plan to stay in New York for the rest of my life, but it's a pretty amazing school to be going to. It's expensive though."

"I didn't think the Sausage Prince would be worried about expenses," Amy laughed.

"I'm not a Sausage Prince anymore...I was never into the meat business but I wanted to do something to make my dad proud of me you know?"

"Yeah Ben I know," Amy bit her bottom lip.

"What?" Ben questioned when he saw the puzzled look on her face.

"Nothing it's just...you've changed a lot. You're so much more mature..."

"Well that's a good thing right?"

"That's a great thing," Amy smiled.

Suddenly Ben's phone rang and he was surprised to see that it was a call from Adrian.

He was just about to answer it when one of the flight attendants walked by his aisle and tossed him a frown, "Sir, you need to turn your phone off so we can prepare for take off."

"I know sorry it's just," the phone was still ringing and Ben looked at the flight attendant with pleading eyes, "Can I just answer this call real quick?"

"Sorry no can do, phone off."

Ben sighed, but turned off his phone.

* * *

"Please leave a message after the beep..." _Beeeeeep. _

Adrian mentally cursed as she stared at her phone. He was probably already on the airplane by now and she felt stupid for calling. Even though she wasn't sure if she wanted to, she drew in a deep breath as she decided to leave a voicemail, "Um hey Ben... I just...I know you're probably on the plane by now and I just wanted to wish you a safe flight. So yeah...I guess that's what I did right now...Okay, wait. That's not it. Look I'm just gonna be straight up, I want to know if that kiss meant anything to you because I think it meant something to me...Wow that's a horrible way to end a voicemail and now I'm ranting so look just, call me when you get a chance ok? Bye..."

She rolled her eyes as she let out a frustrated groan. That had to have been the worst voicemail that she's left in a while. As she sat there, consumed in her own thoughts, she heard the doorbell ring. She looked up at the time and saw that it was 10pm.

"Who could be ringing the doorbell at this time of night?" Adrian muttered to herself.

She made her way towards the door and checked through the peep hole.

"Dad?" She opened the door and raised an eyebrow at him as he walked inside the house and took a seat.

"Something wrong?"

"No...well not exactly um...Adrian I think you might want to sit down for this."

"No. I'll stand what's going on? Something wrong with mom?"

Reuben felt himself playing with his hands as he looked down at the ground, "Adrian please take a seat."

Adrian rolled her eyes and sighed as she sat down, "Seriously dad please don't make this dramatic just tell me what's going on?"

"Adrian...Antonio is alive."

She froze.

Her whole body went numb. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak, she just froze.

"Adrian?" Her father looked at her with a concerned face but everything was turning black now, "Adrian!"

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading! Sorry it's been a while.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I've been having major writers block and I can't figure out why lol, it sucks. But anyway hopefully you enjoy this chapter. There's already five parts so it might just turn into a full blown story.

**Farewell Grant High PT5**

Adrian was lying in a hospital bed but she had no idea why. Her head ached, and she felt herself toss and turn when she couldn't find a comfortable position.

"Adrian?"

Adrian groaned as she touched her head. The pain was unbearable. She looked up and noticed that it was her mother calling her. Her soft voice seemed to calm her down a little bit, "Hey...what's going on?"

Now it was her father's turn to speak, "I told you some big news and you kind of just blacked out on me. I called the ambulance and they assured me that there didn't seem to be anything wrong, but I wanted to bring you here just to make sure. Are you okay? Have you had enough to drink?"

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine," Adrian started to sit up and she could feel her head pounding again, "Agh!" She hissed as she held her head tighter.

"The doctors gave you a pill I think. One of the side affects was headaches. Drink some water I think you'll be okay," her father said.

She drank some water although she really didn't want to, and then she let out a breath. All of the sudden the news hit her. She was sitting on the couch when her father told her that Antonio was alive. She just couldn't believe it.

"Antonio," she muttered weakly.

Cindy tossed her a sympathetic smile, "He's living with his grandmother right now, a few miles away."

"When did he...how long has it been since he was released?" Adrian asked, turning to her father this time for answers.

He sighed, "He's been out for about five or six years now Adrian...He actually owns part of this restaurant business that's really close to where I work, and that's how I found out about him. I contacted his grandma and then..."

Everything Reuben said after that seemed to be a blur. She was suddenly furious. How could he not tell her that he was back? Did he not want to speak to her? She knew that she was being irrational because they both agreed to never contact each other again, but she couldn't help but feel hurt knowing that he didn't even try to look for her. If Reuben had never found out about the business then...

"Adrian? Did you hear what I said?"

"No, sorry," she muttered coldly, "When can I leave?"

"In an hour or so. The nurse just needs to finish your checkup and you should be good."

Adrian didn't say anything else after that.

* * *

**Next Morning...**

Ricky continued his daily routine of dropping John off at school, and then heading to his own school. He put on a smile for John as he held his hand and walked him into his school, "Have fun John, and remember to try and get along with everyone okay?"

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"How come mommy not takin meh to skool today?" John looked at Ricky with plain curiosity and he muttered a curse word under his breath.

"Mommy is in New York remember?"

"Daddy? Let's go to New York!"

He felt himself chuckling as his eyes got watery, "Come on sport, you'll be late get in there."

John ran into class after that.

Ricky had decided that he needed to get his act together. He was going to go see Dr. Fields at least once a week, and he was going to try and live his life as best as he could for John. He wasn't sure if he missed Amy or if he missed the company, and he felt the urge to sleep around again. He felt alone, like there was a strange void that he couldn't feel. He never had that feeling when Amy was around, or when any girl was around for that matter.

He sighed as he got into his car and made his way to school. He had so much on his mind, but he needed to put everything out of his mind. He was already close to failing one of his classes, and he needed to bring it up by the end of the week.

He arrived to school a little early so he decided that he would go to the cafe. He waited in line and then ordered a small cup of coffee, black, with no sugar. Then he sighed and took a seat somewhere. He knew he shouldn't be moping around, but considering everything that happened he felt he had a right to. As he sipped on his coffee he took a moment to think about everything that had happened to him since he had gone to high-school. Was he the cause of all of these events? Or was it meant to happen? He let out a dry laugh, Grace would certainly have something positive to say, he thought tho himself.

His bitter thoughts were interrupted when Clementine came and took a seat across from him, "Hey Ricky."

"Hey."

"Look I was wondering if we could talk."

"About?"

"About the letter I wrote you and everything..." she was biting her lips due to nerves as he waited for her to continue, "I just wanna say that I am so sorry for all for all of that. I should have never wrote that to you knowing how much you cared about Amy."

"It's okay Clementine really, I was flattered," he tossed her a friendly smile.

"I've just been a mess ever since I came here. My boyfriend of 6 years broke up with me, and things just went downhill from there. I mean first me sleeping with Jack, and then me trying to get at you? I mean you're one of my best friends Ricky I just wanted you to know that I didn't intentionally mean to ruin anything."

"You think you ruined something?"

"Well I heard that you two weren't...Look it doesn't even matter. If I did ruin something I just want you to know how sorry I am."

"I appreciate that Clementine, I really do. But you're not the reason for Amy breaking off the engagement. Amy wanted her freedom."

"And you didn't?" she asked.

"Look I have to get to class, but it was nice seeing you. Maybe I'll see you around," he tossed her a small smile and then made his way to his class.

* * *

Kathleen hurried inside the house as she set the cake on the counter. She checked all the decorations to make sure that they were perfect.

"Grace! Grace!"

Grace rushed down the stairs, "I'm here mom, everything's prepared I called Tom and asked him to come home, relax."

Kathleen couldn't help but laugh, "I'm sorry I'm just so excited for him. I can't believe he won't be at home anymore though. My baby."

George came inside holding a present in his hand. He looked around at all the decorations. They were cheap, but nice. All of them said congratulations on them. Kathleen had turned on the radio to his favorite station and everything was nice and in order.

"Did you bring the fresh fruit? The sandwiches? And the lemonade?"

"Yup, they're in the dinning room," George smiled "And I brought the pizza too."

"George!" Both Grace and Kathleen exclaimed.

Grace rolled her eyes, "We're supposed to be doing more homemade stuff."

"Oh hush, the boy likes pizza. I got pepperoni and cheese, two boxes," George smiled. Kathleen chuckled and Grace just huffed as she set the presents on the table.

"I hear the car pulling up. I told Jack to bring him here."

"Why Jack?" Kathleen eyed Grace suspiciously.

"When I called Tom he was hanging out with Jack so I told him to bring him home," Grace rolled her eyes, "It wasn't some plot to try and get him back if that's what you were thinking. I told you I broke up with him."

Before they could say anything more about the subject, the door opened, and Kathleen, Grace, and George jumped up and yelled, "Surprise!"

Tom couldn't help but give them a big smile. Grace and Kathleen ran up to him excitedly and hugged him, "Congratulations!"

They were celebrating the fact that Tom had been selected to move downtown and help promote the Human Resources Company. As Vice President, there was nothing more exciting to him then being a part of this.

"I will...miss you guys...Thank you..." Tom smiled brightly at his family, and then his eyes moved to the presents on the table. He ran towards the present like a child on Christmas day, and immediately began opening them.

Kathleen chuckled and let him, even though he was supposed to eat first. George and Kathleen cheered him on as he opened up his presents, and Jack took this opportunity to pull Grace to the side.

"What is it Jack?" she asked hesitantly.

"I got another surprise for Tom."

Grace's eyes widened, "You do?"

"Yeah I do...I've been talking to Tom for the past couple weeks and he's been telling me that he's been receiving letters from Jacob."

"Jacob? Our half brother Jacob?"

"Yeah, and look I know you guys didn't really get along, but just hear me out...I kind of called him a few weeks ago and asked if he could come today, and he told me yes."

Grace wanted to scream at Jack. She felt the anger stir inside of her, but she breathed, and nodded, "Okay..."

"Okay? You're not gonna hit me?" he questioned, still holding up his hands in defense.

Grace chuckled at him, and pushed his arms down, "Stop, you're making me laugh. Yeah I was kind of upset since you just told me about this. But this is for Tom, not me. And if it makes Tom happy, then I'm happy."

"Wow...I love that about you you're just so-"

The doorbell interrupted his thoughts and both Grace and Jack knew who it was.

"Tom, why don't you go open that?" Grace smiled.

Tom shrugged his shoulders and went to open the door. To his surprise, Jacob was standing there with a big smile on his face.


End file.
